Door template



Nov. 15, 1966 J. J. HOVEN 3,284,912

DOOR TEMPLATE Filed April 30, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 15, 1966 J. J.HOVEN 3,284,912

DOOR TEMPLATE Filed April 30, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent3,284,912 DOOR TEMPLATE Jacob J. Hoven, 75 Meigs St., Rochester, N.Y.Filed Apr. 30, 1965, Ser. No. 452,078 11 Claims. (Cl. 33194) Thisinvention relates to a door template such as is used by carpenters infitting a door to a door opening. Of course it may also be used infitting windows to window openings, and the structure is called a doortemplate merely for convenience of description, without intendingthereby to limit it to use only in connection with doors.

'An object of the invention is the provision of a generally improved andmore satisfactory door template.

Another object is the provision of a template having especiallyadvantageous and easy means for marking a door (or window) to the sizeto which it must be cut down in order to fit properly in the intendedopening.

Still another object is the provision of a template sutficien-tly lightto be easily handled in placing it in the opening which is to bemeasured and then in removing it from the opening and placing it on thedoor which is to be marked for cutting, and a template which issufiiciently simple so that the measuring parts can be manipulated andadjusted with the greatest case.

A further object is the provision of a template so constructed that itcan be very easily altered or modified on the job by an experiencedcarpenter, to enable it to be used with openings of larger or smallersize than the originally intended range of sizes.

A still further object is the provision of a template so designed thatthe carpenter using it can easily knock it down in a few moments tocarry it compactly from one job location to another, and can reassembleor erect it in a few moments.

These and other desirable objects may be attained in the mannerdisclosed as an illustrative embodiment of the invention in thefollowing description and in the accompanying drawings forming a parthereof, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of a preferred form of template, showing itplaced in a door opening in the manner in which it would normally beused to measure appropriate parts of the opening;

FIG. 2 is a section taken approximately on the lines 22 of FIGS. 1 and3, on a larger scale;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan of the parts shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary end view of one of the measuring members,showing the normal relation of the marking chisel to the surface whichis to be marked; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, illustrating the action of themarking chisel under the impact of a hammer blow.

' First to give some of the background of door templates (many forms ofwhich are already known) a typical door opening is theoretically trulyrectangular, and the same is true of a typical window opening. However,in actual practice it is found that the opening (especially a dooropening) is often not quite of the theoretical shape. It may, forexample, be slightly wider at the top than at the bottom, or vice versa,or the top member or header may not be truly horizontal, so that theopening is slightly higher on one side than on the other. The sidemembers may be slightly sprung in or sprung out, making the openingslightly wider or narrower, at its mid-point, than at the top andbottom. Even if the opening is of theoretically perfect shape and size,the correct dimensions (allowing for the necessary clearance) have to bemarked on the door so that the door can be easily and quickly cut downto size, since doors are customarily made slightly oversize. Sometimeswindows must also be cut down to size, but they are made oversize lessfrequently than doors.

The template of the .present invention provides easy means for measuringthe critical dimensions of the door opening or window opening as thecase may be, and especially easy and convenient means for transferringthe proper measurements to the face of the oversize door or window,enabling the door or window to be readily marked to show just where itshould be out to fit it to the intended opening.

Referring now to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a fragment of the wall is shownat 11, and the door frame is indicated in general at 13. The floor lineis shown at 15. The template of the present invention, shown in normalmeasuring position in the door frame opening, includes a centralvertical post 21 of light weight lumber, for example a piece of l x 4lumber, of a length slightly less than the height of the door opening.

Secured crosswise against the back face of the member 21 are two crosspieces 23 at the topand 25 at the bottom of the vertical member 21.These cross pieces or cross arms 23 and 25 at top and bottom,respectively, may

' elevated slightly above the bottom end of the upright meme her 21, sothat the upright member projects a short distance, say about one inchfor example, below the bottom edge of the cross arm 25, as shown at 61.

Both cross arms 23 and 25 are preferably of light plywood of the shapesshown in FIG. 1, the top edge of the upper cross arm 23 and the bottomedge of the lower cross arm 25 being preferably straight and horizontal,while the bottom edge of the upper cross arm and the top edge of thelower cross arm are oblique as shown, to give each cross piece a greaterbearing length on the vertical member 21. Both of the pieces of plywoodare secured to the upright 21 by wood screws which are screwed in fromthe rear, first through the thickness of the plywood and then into thethickness of the upright frame member 21. 'Flat head wood screws areused, countersunk into the plywood, so that the screw heads do not Oneproject beyond the rear face of the plywood panels. of the features ofthis construction is that there is nothing whatever (except the rubberblocks mentioned below) projecting beyond the rear face of the plywoodpanels, the rear faces being smooth so that they can be laid on a doorwhich is to be marked, without scratching or otherwise damaging thedoor.

On each of the cross arms 23 and 25 there are adjustable measuringmembers or feelers, the arrangement being identical on each crossmember, except that one is reversed or upside down with respect to theother, so that a description of one will suffice for both. There are twolateral feelers which are fairly long and 'have a long range ofmovement, and two vertical feelers near the outer corners, which have amuch shorter length and shorter range of movement.

Referring first to the feeler 31, which is the left handfeeler extendinghorizontally on the top cross arm 23, this feeler 31 is convenientlymade of a strip of wood having a rectangular or square cross section,about one inch square more or less, with a slot 33 extendinglongitudinally along the center thereof, throughout most of the lengthof the strip 31. This strip is adjustably mounted on the front face ofthe cross arm 23 (that is, the face which is fastened to the uprightmember 21) to move horizontally along a guideway conveniently formed ofsections of quarter-round molding 35 secured to the face of the plywoodpanel 23 in parallel spaced relation to each other to form a channelwhich receives the feeler strip 31 with a snug sliding fit. Thequarter-round molding 35 may be secured to the plywood by screws, nails,or glue. A'flat head screw 37, countersunk into the rear face of theplywood panel 23, extends through the slot 33 as shown more especiallyin FIG. 2, and has at its forward end a wing nut 39 which clamps downonto the forward face of the feeler strip 31 through an interposedwasher 41. It will be readily appreciated from what has been said andfrom what is shown in the drawings, that when the wing nut 39 isloosened, the feeler strip 31 can slide readily along its groove orchannel formed between the moldings 35, and when the wing nut 39 istightened, the measuring strip or feeler strip 31 is clamped fast.

There is a similar arrangement on the right hand arm of the cross member23, the feeler strip here being indicated by the numeral 31a, and theother parts (channelforming quarter-round moldings, and clamping screwand nut) being arranged the same as those in connection with the lefthand arm, and being designated by the same reference numerals. Anothersimilar arrangement is on the bottom cross member 25, the left handfeeler member being designated by the numeral 31b and the right handfeeler member being designated by the numeral 31c, the channels and theclamping screws being the same as before.

In addition to the horizontally slidable feeler members 31, 31a, 31b,and 31c, there are also four vertically movable feeler members ormeasuring members of the same construction as the horizontally movablemembers just described, except that they are much shorter and have ashorter range of travel. The vertical feeler member at the upper leftcorner (when viewed as in FIG. 1) is designated by the numeral 32, thatat the upper right corner is designated 32a, that at,the lower leftcorner is designated 32b, and that at the lower right corner isdesignated 320. Each of these is close to the respective end of thecross arm or cross member on which it is mounted, and each is slidablein its guiding channel formed by quarter-round strips, just as in thecase of the longer feeler members previously described, the quarterroundmolding strips and the clamping bolts and nuts all being designated bythe same numerals used for the corresponding parts in connection withthe longer horizontal feeler members.

At the outer end of each feeler member, both the long ones 31, 31a,etc., and the short ones 32, 32a, etc., there is a marking member suchas a small chisel member 45 rigidly secured to the end of its respectiveslide member or feeler member as by screws 47, as shown particularly inFIGS. 2 and 4. It will be noted that the sharp chisel edge of eachchisel member 45 faces rearwardly toward the rear surface of the plywoodpanel, and the sharp edge projects very slightly beyond the plane of therear surface of the plywood panel. It will also be noted that the bevelof the chisel is away from the outer face of the chisel member 45, asseen in FIG. 2, so that the cutting edge of the chisel is spaced fromthe outer face of the chisel by a distance equal to the thickness of thechisel blade. This automatically spaces the cutting edge of the chiselin from the doorjamb by the thickness of the chisel blade, which issuflicient clearance for the edges of the door when the door is to bemounted in the door frame or jamb. It is also noted that the-end of thechisel opposite to the cutting edge projects up above the upper 4 faceof the feeler strip on which the chisel is mounted, when viewed as inFIGS. 2, 4, and 5.

Mounted on the under face of each feeler strip 31, 32, etc., tightagainst the inner face of the chisel, is a small block 51 ofcompressible resilient material such as sponge rubber, held to the rearface of the feeler strip as by means of strong adhesive. Thiscompressible resilient material 51 is of such thickness that it is alittle thicker than the amount by which the chisel projects beyond therear face of the feeler strip on which it is mounted, and a littlethicker than the thickness of the plywood panels 23, 25, and 63. Thus ifthe template is 'laid fiat on a horizontally extending door or othersimilar panel, the various compressible strips 51, one associated witheach chisel member, will hold the template elevated a slight distanceabove the face of the door panel on which the template rests, avoidingany premature marking or scratching of the door panel. But when thetemplate has been positioned in the desired position on the door panel,then the upwardly projecting edge of each chisel member 45 can be hit insuccession by a sharp blow of a hammer 55 as indicated schematically inFIG. 5, and the hammer blow will momentarily compress the resilientcompressible material 51 associated with the particular chisel member 45which has been struck. compressing it far enough so that the chiselpoint will make a slight mark on the door panel 57 on which the templateis lying. Then when the template is removed, the various marks made bythe various chisels which have been struck by a hammer blow, can bejoined to each other by drawing a line along a straightedge, and thedoor can be cut down along the lines thus draw-r1. Then it will fit thedoor opening (with proper clearance formed by the thickness of thechisels) the first time the door is tried in the opening, and it is notnecessary to fuss with it and shave it down little by little until itfits, as is necessary when one tries to hang a door without using atemplate.

The purpose of having the lower end of the upright frame member 21project slightly below the lower edge of the cross member 25, is to beable to rest this lower end or projecting portion 61 (FIG. 1) on thefloor 15, to support the device in an upright position in the dooropening, without necessarily having the feeler members 32b and 32ctouching the floor at this time. It may be desired to place a piece ofthreshhold material or other suitable thickness gauge under each of theslide members 32b and 320 before adjusting it and clamping it inposition, to determine the extent to which the door, when hung, is tohave clearance from the door, and this is easily done if meanwhile thestructure is being supported by contact of the end 61 with the door.

The construction being quite light, it is easy for the operator to holdit upright with one hand while he uses the other hand to adjust andclamp the upper horizontal feelers or slides 31 and 31a. clamped inposition, with their ends (or rather, the respec tive chisels on theirends) tight against the door-jamb, friction will hold the template inits'upright position in the door opening, resetting on the bottomprojection 61, while the operator now has both hands free to completethe adjustment of the other slide members or feeler members. Whenadjustment has been completed, the operator pulls the template out ofthe door opening (since it is only held lightly by friction therein) andlays it down on the door panel which has meanwhile been positionedhorizontally on a workbench or on saw-horses or other suitable support.He then taps each chisel member in succession with a hammer blow, as:above explained, marking the door, subsequent-1y joining the marks bydrawing a line along a straightedge, and cutting or planing the door asneeded. Until each chisel is hit with the hammer blow, it is heldelevated slightly above the door by the resilient compressible material51, so that the door is not marred When they have been as the templateis moved around on the door to position it in exactly the desiredposition.

The parts above described, with the two cross arms 23 and 25 at top andbottom, are all that is needed when the door frame is straight or true.However, if the door frame is warped or buckled so that it may benarrower or wider, intermediate its height, than at top or bottom, thenone or more additional cross members may be used at any desiredintermediate points on the frame member 21. FIG. 1 ,shows a third crossmember 63, screwed to the vertical member 21 approximately midway of thelength thereof, and substantially identical with the top cross member 23except that it does not have the vertically movable slides or feelers.It does have two horizontally movable slides or feelers 31d and Site,the same as the previously described slides 31, 31a, etc. If the sidesof the door frame are not true, one or more intermediate gauging memberslike this will enable the door to be marked to cut it with slightlyirregular side edges, so as to fit the irregular door opening.

If the device is to be used in fitting a door with a curved or archedtop, several additional ones of the vertical slides 32 and 32a may bemounted on the upper cross arm 23, and they may be made longer so as tohave somewhat greater range of travel, so as to fit against and properlymeasure the curved or arched upper end of the door opening (or thewindow opening, if a window is to be fitted). If the template is to beused repeatedly in connection with arched openings, it is best to havethe series of upwardly extending feeler members diverging from eachother like the spokes of a wheel, rather than having them parallel toeach other.

The construction is extremely simple, and much lighter and easier to usethan various prior door templates which are known in the art. Being madeof relatively simple wooden parts, it is easily repaired on the job, ifit is broken due to an accident. Moreover, when one job is finished andthe template is to be carried to a different location, it is very easyand the work of but a moment to remove the wood screws which fasten therespective cross arms 23, 25, and 63 to the upright member, so that thetwo or more cross arms and the upright member can all be bundledtogether parallel to each other, for easy and compact carrying.

The template can be used with doors of a great range of widths, sincethe horizontal feelers are quite long and have a great range of travel.Also, if the template is to be used for a door of considerably differentheight from that for which the template was originally designed, thiscan easily be done. The simple vertical frame member 21 can be cut downto a shorter length if it must be used for a substantially shorter door,and the top cross arm may be repositioned thereon. A new vertical member21 can be secured, of longer length, and the front faces of the plywoodpanel members 23, 25, 63 can easily be screwed to the rear face of thenew and longer member 21, when the device is to be used with a tallerdoor. Thus it is very versatile in the hands of any skilled carpenter.

It is seen from the foregoing disclosure that the objects and purposesof the invention are well fulfilled. It is to be understood that theforegoing disclosure is given by way of illustrative example only,rather than by way of limitation, and that without departing from theinvention, the details may be varied within the scope of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. A door template comprising a central upright strip of wood adapted torest on the floor, a first crossarm of plywood having its front facefixed to the rear face of said upright strip near the top thereof, asecond crossarm of plywood having its front face fixed to the rear faceof said upright strip near the bottom thereof and spaced slightly abovethe bottom thereof so as to be elevated above the floor when the bottomof said strip rests on the floor, guiding strips fixed to and projectingforwardly from the front face of each of said crossarms to form guidechannels between pairs of parallel guiding strips, feeler strips movablelengthwise along the respective guide channels so as to project one endof each strip to a variable extent beyond the crossarm on which it ismounted, and a clamping screw for clamping each feeler strip in aposition in which it is adjusted in its channel, said channels andfeeler strips being so placed that one feeler strip may projectlaterally beyond each end of each crossarm, two feeler strips mayproject upwardly beyond the upper edge of the upper crossarm, one neareach end thereof, and two feeler strips may project downwardly beyondthe lower edge of the lower crossarm, one near each end thereof.

2. A construction as defined in claim 1, further including a markingmember mounted on the outer end of each feeler strip.

3. A construction as defined in claim 2, in which each marking member isa chisel.

4. A construction as defined in claim 1, further including a markingchisel mounted on the outer end of each feeler strip and having a sharpmarking edge projecting rearwardly from the feeler strip on which it ismounted and terminating slightly to the rear of the plane of the rearface of the crossarm on which the feeler strip is mounted.

5. A construction as defined in claim 4, further including a block ofresilient compressible material mounted on each feeler strip adjacentthe chisel thereon and projecting rearwardly to an extent slightlybeyond the sharp marking edge of the chisel, to hold the sharp edge ofthe chisel out of contact with a fiat surface on which the template islaid, until the block of resilient compressible material is compressed.

6. A door template comprising an upright frame member, a plurality ofcrossarms mounted on and extending crosswise of said frame member, onenear the top and one near the bottom thereof, said crossarms havingsmooth flat rear surfaces adapted to lie against a flat door panel whichis to be marked, a plurality of feeler members adjustably mounted oneach crossarm for movement thereon to positions projecting outwardlybeyond the edges of the respective crossarms on which they are mounted,and a marking member mounted substantially at the outer end of each ofsaid feeler members and adapted to make a mark on a door panel on whichsaid template is laid, when the marking member is pressed against suchdoor panel.

7. A construction as defined in claim 6, in which said marking member isa chisel.

8. A construction as defined in claim 6, in which said marking member isa chisel having a rearwardly directed sharp edge extending substantiallyperpendicular to the length of the feeler member on which it is mounted,said chisel being beveled from its outer face to said sharp edge so thatsaid sharp edge is offset inwardly from the outer face of the chisel bya distance equal to the thickness of the chisel.

9. A construction as defined in claim 6, further including a body ofcompressible material mounted adjacent each marking member and havingsufiicient dimensions to hold the marking member normally spacedslightly from a door panel on which said template is laid, said markingmember being capable of being brought into contact with said door panelto make a mark thereon when said compressible material is compressed.

10. A construction as defined in claim 9, in which said marking memberhas a striking portion adapted to be struck by a hammer to compress saidcompressible material to bring said marking member into marking relationto the door panel.

11. A door template comprising frame means, a feeler adjustably mountedon said frame means to project to a variable extent beyond said framemeans, a marking member mounted on said feeler substantially at theouter end thereof, said marking member having a mark-making endprojecting transversely from said feeler, and a body of compressiblematerial adjacent said mark-making end of said marking member andprojecting slightly beyond said mark-making end to hold said mark-makingend normally out of contact with an adjacent surface to be marked, saidmark-making end being brought into marking contact with the surface tobe marked by compressing said compressible material.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Hayman 33-189Zelenski 33-189 X Bryant 33194 Hurd 33194 Reeder 33194 Kronquist 33-194X Findley 33194 LEONARD FORMAN, Primary Examiner.

1. A DOOR TEMPLATE COMPRISING A CENTRAL UPRIGHT STRIP OF WOOD ADAPTED TOREST ON THE FLOOR, A FIRST CROSSARM OF PLYWOOD HAVING ITS FRONT FACEFIXED TO THE REAR FACE OF SAID UPRIGHT STRIP NEAR THE TOP THEREOF, ASECOND CROSSARM OF PLYWOOD HAVING ITS FRONT FACE FIXED TO THE REAR FACEOF SAID UPRIGHT STRIP NEAR THE BOTTOM THEREOF AND SPACED SLIGHTLY ABOVETHE BAOTTOM THEREOF SO AS TO BE ELEVATED ABOVE THE FLOOR WHEN THE BOTTOMOF SAID STRIP RESTS ON THE FLOOR, GUIDING STRIPS FIXED TO AND PROJECTINGFORWARDLY FROM THE FRONT FACE OF EACH OF SAID CROSSARMS TO FORM GUIDECHANNELS BETWEEN PAIRS OF PARALLEL GUIDING STRIPS, FEELER STRIPS MOVABLELENGTHWISE ALONG THE RESPECTIVE GUIDE CHANNELS SO AS TO PROJECT ONE ENDOF EACH STRIP TO A VARIABLE EXTENT BEYOND THE CROSSARM ON WHICH IT ISMOUNTED, AND A CLAMPING SCREW FOR CLAMPING EACH FEELER STRIP IN APOSITION IN WHICH IT IS ADJUSTED IN ITS CHANNEL, SAID CHANNELS ANDFEELER STRIPS BEING SO PLACED THAT ONE FEELER STRIP MAY PROJECTLATERALLY BEYOND EACH END OF EACH CROSSARM, TWO FEELER STRIPS MAYPROJECT UPWARDLY BEYOND THE UPPER EDGE